The Butler Speaks ~ The Art of Housekeeping

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I have a lot of wonderful friends in the social media world. One of my friends Mrs. Shery tagged me in a photo of a book called The Butler Speaks: A Return to Proper Etiquette, Stylish Entertaining, and the Art of Good Housekeeping. I was truly intrigued by this. So I jumped on Amazon to find it and was really happy to see that it had the “look inside” feature.

So I was able to take a quick peek inside the book and may I say it caught my attention. I have the first Kindle so I tried to download a “sample” to it but I could not find it. I always try to download samples to my Kindle before I commit to buying a book. So I took a risk and went ahead and order it.

I don’t think I will regret this purchase. I read a few pages on Amazon and I was truly pleased.



Photo by Debby Hudson on Unsplash


Here is what author Charles MacPherson had to say about housekeeping:

In the Victorian and Edwardian eras, cleaning was a matter of pride and decency. Harsh techniques and chemicals were used to clean practically everything in the home. What we have learned today is that cleanliness is possible, even preferable, without the use of toxic chemicals. In fact, harsh techniques and chemicals actually damage the surfaces they touch. 


A furniture conservator and friend of mine, Mr. Greg Kelly, once described our role in caring for household items as “custodians of fine furniture for future generations.” Before he said this, I’d never thought of my butlering role this way. Instead of concentrating on the drudgery and stress of maintaining the cleanliness of every object in a household, I was heartened to think of my role-and indeed the role of all the household staff as that of a preserver of a kind of legacy. 






photo credit Olivier Bergeron

After reading that I thought wow…… my have things changed. We have no care for what our homes look like. In fact, people care less about how they look and live now than ever before! We have so many things to help us yet we are so lazy! I absolutely refuse this! My home is always clean and always will be. I agree with what he said, cleaning was a matter of pride and decency. Let us bring that back. 


                                Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
I will be sharing more from this book. I believe we will enjoy it!

(text Charles MacPherson) 


Principles of a Gracious Life ~ Geniality

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photo credit Ilyas Bolatov 
Whenever we have a warm, cheerful, positive disposition, we’re not only contributing to, but sympathizing with the enjoyment of life. People who inspire joy or happiness, who affirm and confirm others, are marked with genius, belonging to a higher nature. When we have a pleasant, friendly personality, we glow with a gracious, giving spirit, spreading the energy of light all around us.





~The Principles of a Gracious Life
by Alexandra Stoddard

Eating with Fresh Herbs

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Last summer my mother in law went to the grocery store and picked up some fresh herbs. She was so excited about her mint and parsley plants.

I thought it was a wonderful idea and decided to try it this summer so I went to my local grocery and picked up some mint and parsley. It is so nice having them on my window ledge.

You can smell the mint and it is just heavenly. I used the parsley in our weekly pasta meal and it was delish!

The plants themselves were not too expensive. If you can pick up some small ones from your local grocery. Having them around will put a smile on your face.

My herbs

I chopped up the parsley and put it in the sauce. Ohhh so good!

A simple yet delicious dinner. 













(photos via Mrs. Shockley)

My Dinner Rotation Meals

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Keeping a home schedule is very important to me. Earlier this year I talked about having An Elegant Routine and in that entry I talked about my dinner rotation list.

Every week I head to the grocery store. I am not one to stock up on food. I don’t know why but I like going every week. I like talking with the florist and I like talking with the cashiers.

It’s nice to have some “people time”. I always write out a grocery list on Friday nights. I keep the same meals through out the week and we shift days but the meals stay the same.

Right now the meals that we rotate are: roasted chicken with olive oil and salt, red potatoes with olive oil and salt, steamed broccoli, french bread, rigatoni with herbs and meat sauce, chicken fingers with steamed rice and veggies, taco salad, chicken fettuccine, turkey sausage and steamed rice, fried chicken with mashed potatoes and veggies and bundt pan pizza (see recipe here).  

During the fall and winter I will pull out some of these dishes and replace them with chili, pot roast, potatoes and carrots, crock pot chicken with Campbell’s cream of chicken soup and baked spaghetti.

Below are some photos of some of our meals and video from my fav author Jennifer L. Scott and she talks about her meals with her family which are simple and easy. Enjoy!

Fried chicken meal

Panko crusted chicken meal (see recipe here)
Meat sauce with fresh herbs and rigatoni
(My daughter’s favorite)



Lemon crusted chicken

Bundt pan pizza
I love french bread! To learn about the dipping oil see here.

Another fried chicken meal. My family and I love chicken!



Another meal that I make is baked salmon. I have that once a week and I usually make it for myself. My husband and daughter do not like seafood. 






I hope you enjoy the video!













(photos via Mrs. Shockley)






Principles of a Gracious Life ~ Ease

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Photo by Karolina Bobek ✌ on Unsplash
Whenever we experience freedom from constraint, pain, agitation or worry, we sense the pleasant satisfactions of naturalness. When we’re not making an effort, when we have relief from labor and are able to be carefree, we can feel rested, be quiet and tranquil, secure in the ease and comfort of our mind and heart. We need relaxation and a moment’s peace in order to live graciously, and when we do find this sense of calm, we experience greater dexterity in our performance. By backing away we move forward with grace.


~The Principles of a Gracious Life
by Alexandra Stoddard

Principles of A Gracious Life ~ Appreciation

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photo credit Melnychuk Nataliya
When we have a quick recognition of excellence, when we’re able to value someone or something, fully aware of the magnitude of their qualities, our illumination leads to being thankful, increasing the value of esteem. Being aware of the worth of appreciation is key to a gracious life. Whenever we esteem highly, we are validating life, its merit and worth.

When we are thankful, we ourselves increase in value, transcending time and place, becoming one with eternity. Of all the qualities of a gracious life, appreciation is the most essential. When we’re conscious of all the good and beautiful things and people in our lives, not judging, but living in continuous gratitude, we’re free to connect with the great, timeless truths. When we show appreciation, we’re recognizing the divinity within us, our true identity. 



~The Principles of a Gracious Life
by Alexandra Stoddard

The Details of Home ~ 2

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Small details around one’s home are everything. I love going to visit a friend or going to a home show and viewing all the “small details”. I look at everything. I look at the paint colors, plates, towels, carpets, the floors, bed linens, I mean you name it I pay attention to all the details of home.

Home can be a wonderful place. It is a place of safety and serenity. I wrote a post about 2 years ago called “Small Details Around the Home”.  This post is a continuation of the details around my home. I have made some changes and have added some things. I do enjoy my home and I am very grateful for what I have.

My black and white chairs that I picked up at Costco.

My sitting room. To get the details on my pillows see here.

Our bedroom. I love my wing~back bed. To get the details on the bed see here.
My home office

Fresh flowers in the bedroom

My kitchen chandelier. I still love it! To see the details click here.
A new chandelier in my closet. 

My elegant arm candy.

Fresh flowers everywhere in my home…







My art on my wall in the office.

My favorite body spritz perfume (Amazing Grace).
The bottle says:
Philosophy: how you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get 
down the mountain. and so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big
gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson. in the end, it all comes down to one word.
grace. it’s how you accept winning and losing, good luck and bad luck,
the darkness and the light. 




Roses in my home office. To see more of the candles click here.
The scent in this photo is called “Garden”. 

The new dinner plates I found at T.J. Maxx. I love blue and white dinnerware. 




Lilies in my blue and white vase in the family room.
I hope you enjoyed the small details of my home. I hope to do another post soon showing other details of my home that I enjoy. Remember celebrate you life and do not let toxic people stop you from seeing the wonder in your life because they can’t see theirs. 
(photos via Mrs. Shockley)